Few poker sites in recent years have made the splash that Victory Poker has in its short existence. Victory aggressively marketed their room, they had a solid rakeback deal, and they signed an impressive roster of pro players that included Andrew Robl and Antonio Esfandiari. Not coincidentally, these two pros gained Victory even more exposure when they appeared on High Stakes Poker wearing the Victory Poker patches. But even with everything that Victory did right, they failed in one key aspect – diversification.
The site was too centered on the American market, and once the events of Black Friday hit, their player base died fast. Plus their impending move from the Cake network to the CEREUS network was cut short by Black Friday.
And while it’s possible that Victory could have survived longer, CEO Dan Fleyshman had enough and was burnt out. Fleyshman dropped the bombshell on the poker world through his Facebook page by writing “The brand will continue doing strategy, news (and) videos as an affiliate site. I will be focusing much more on my upcoming charity, consulting other companies and helping with Victory marketing.”
As far as I can remember, this is the first time that a major poker room like Victory has made the decision to transform into a poker affiliate site. And while it’s not exactly a success transforming into an affiliate, it will be interesting to see how the room does in this capacity.
In regards to the Victory Poker pros, there is no word on what will happen to Esfandiari or Robl; I’m sure that they’ll find a sponsor somewhere though. And if you’re wondering about the Victory players, all accounts, Gold Chips, and other bonuses will be transferred to Cake Poker in June.